


Supernatural 3.13 review

by yourlibrarian



Series: Supernatural Reviews [16]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode Review, Episode: s03e13 Ghostfacers, Gen, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 17:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30109431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: Originally posted April 25, 2008.
Series: Supernatural Reviews [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202249
Kudos: 1
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Supernatural 3.13 review

My first thought when Ghostfacers ended was that this is not an episode that will rerun well. For one thing, about halfway through the episode I was already getting tired of the cinematography. And given that they didn't actually shoot the entire episode through the head cams anyway (there was the occasional establishing shot such as the overhead view of Ed, Harry and Maggie in the salt circle), I would have appreciated seeing that used more for effect than the bulk of the footage. The other problem is that the episode relies largely on suspense, which is great until you've seen it once and then it just becomes rather expository and boring.

My first thought when I watched the intro was to think of Warren and Andrew from BtVS, and specifically Andrew's "Storyteller" episode which opened rather the same way. I had a flashback to Jonathan and Andrew during the "Check, Check" bit too. The attempt at a power walk was pretty amusing. I enjoyed all the little in-jokes such as the dig at the writers, "the BLEEPS from Texas", the Hell Hounds name didn't test well, the Coven poster on the back of the door, etc.

Am I alone in thinking Corbett's description of Ed as "the more rugged, with that really, golden…beautiful sort of beard" was a play on describing Jensen? Especially with the "And Harry's nice too"? Also, am I nuts or did Spruce's voice sound like Jared? I especially noticed it in the part where he asks Dean about the 2 months bit.

I did like the bit with the "earthquake" turning out to be Ed's dad opening the garage door –- except that with their whole set up in that room, when was the last time it was used as a garage?

Speaking of cars, it's a good thing Sam and Dean weren't worried about being stealthy because the Impala sure ain't subtle.

I loved the fact that they cursed all through this. Oddly enough I don't really notice the fact that Sam and Dean don't get to curse –- I don't know if it's because I constantly read it in fic and thus I fill in the blanks when I watch the show or what, but it made me laugh every time it happened. I also laughed at Sam and Dean bickering over the Grand Canyon line. My God, they're such a married couple. I assume that this bit was put in to explain why after the events of Jus in Bello they're checking out a haunted house of all things.

The scene where they drop in the exposition about the Echoes for later use at the end was nicely done.

Heh, to Sam's comment about the guy being an optimist thanks to the Nuclear Survival literature. What I don't get though is Sam and Dean's conclusion that the guy brought the bodies home to molest them. What makes them think he didn't just cannibalize them? Or just keep them as trophies (as indicated by the taxidermy book)? Why would Dean leap to that conclusion? (Is it for the same reason he knows about RealDolls?)

It was kind of interesting to contrast the near-absence of a relationship between Ed and Maggie to Sam and Dean. Except for the rather odd bit about Ed freaking out over Maggie and Harry, you wouldn't have even known they were siblings. I'm assuming the reason she was made his sister was to better explain what a girl was doing hanging out with this bunch of misfits.

The resolution of the mystery was rather anticlimactic. I thought it was a good story, but the way Sam ends up telling it after being rescued, I actually missed part of it the first time through and had to pick it up on my re-view.

And now we come to the part which aggravates me every time I think of it. I had the unpleasant thought at the beginning when it was revealed Corbett had a crush on Ed that bad things were going to happen. And then they did. Given the set up I was expecting several people to die in this episode. After all, virtually every SPN episode has a body count of at least 2 (although in the case of Roadkill, they were all dead before Sam and Dean got there). In the classic "locked in with the killer" story you'd think the whole episode would revolve around one character after another disappearing and being killed. But no, it's only the poor gay guy who dies. And while I think Ed's speech to him was nicely done, and in the end the gay hero kills the gay villain -- well they're still both dead, while we see the het couple hugging as the group leaves the house. And then we get to hear Harry's patronizing speech calling him "little buddy" (it got cut) and telling him he's earned full Ghost Facer status. I realize that was supposed to reflect poorly on Harry, not Corbett, but all I can say is that I hope no one in the writer's room was patting themselves on the back for their progressivism. Rather, I'd like to think that Dean's comment "Yeah, that's a real tight rope you guys are walking" was a bit of a lantern.

Speaking of which, how long did Sam and Dean hang around that they were able to see a cut of the footage? Long enough to pick up the magnets I guess. I suppose that's why Sam gave Ed their number, so that they could be called when the draft was ready. I can't understand why they'd wipe out their footage though, since the most obvious reason –- that Sam and Dean couldn't afford to show up alive on film –- wasn't mentioned.

Another thing I realized is that part of the reason I'm still in S&D's viewpoint throughout the show is that theirs is the "real" one. Which I had assumed was part of the in-joke of the episode, the idea that "reality" TV isn't anything of the kind and only captures sporadic glimpses of it. I think it's notable that the group isn't out to make a documentary, they're out to make a TV show. So things that are inconvenient (the garage door opening) can just get cut out. I found the episode rather uneven because the writers seems unable to decide what to do with this episode. For example the head-cam thing may have been part of the effort to put us in the Ghostfacers' POV, but there are bunches of places where it's not used. For example, Corbett. When he goes off to "talk to the spirits", who's filming him? He's alone. When he gets killed, who's filming that? Sam has no head cam. The idea that we're actually in the Ghostfacers POV isn't consistent.

Most importantly, S&D's world is messy and unpleasant and yet the consequences are kind of brushed off here for the sake of retaining a humorous ending. What happened to Corbett's body? Did they leave him there to rot? Did they call in an anonymous tip (as Dean did in Malleus)? I'm guessing maybe not because if they did surely someone would know Corbett was part of this group and the Ghostfacers couldn't risk having law enforcement involvement. After all, that's how S&D got on the FBI wanted list, because their work leaves behind inconvenient evidence. And now that the evidence is all destroyed, it's possible the GF could wind up charged with Corbett's death.

The consequences of the deaths on the show is one of those things we don't usually see. For example, the ending of Heart was pretty strong, but it would have had a totally different flavor if the last scenes we saw were Sam and Dean wiping down the place for prints and such while Madison's body lies splayed out on the floor. Similarly we never really see the Ghostfacers taking responsibility for what they did. Corbett was there of his own free will, but one thing this should have made them aware of is how little they know about what they're doing and how dangerous it is. Yet apparently they learned nothing from the Hell House experience, and instead brought more people into it. As Sam comments, they memorialize him while grossly exploiting his death, but there's no thought there about "How could we have avoided his death in the first place?" (And we sure don't have them explaining to Corbett's parents how this goofy group he was involved with ended up killing him).

Obviously that creates a different episode (and maybe even a different show). I do think though, it would have been interesting to watch a show that seemed to start off as a spoof degenerate into something real. Now that would have been a surprise for the audience.


End file.
